Honey Hive Heist
by Toni The Mink
Summary: Where did Charmy come from? This was a question that Team Chaotix... never really bothered with. But recent events and a sudden interest in the young bee by a group of mercenaries will bring up a lot more questions and surprising answers!
1. Their First Case

"Honey Hive Heist"

written by: Toni the Mink

Sonic and all related indica (c) SEGA, Archie, and NOT Ken Penders :P

All Fancharacters (c) Toni the Mink

* * *

_*bang* *bang* *bang*_

"...rrRrr... get the door..." Vector mumbled as he slowly turned in his bed, smacking his hand into the giant lump in the bed next to his. The lump let out a mighty snore in response.

_*bang* *bang* *bang*_

Vector just wanted his sleep. He didn't want to deal with clients at 2 in the morning.

Of course, this was the best thing about being boss... if he didn't want to deal with something, make his lackeys do it.

"Rookie! Answer the door!"

The rookie in question, laying in a cot on the other side of Vector's bed, stirred slightly. "Why don't you get it..?" he moaned.

"Because I'm the leader and I give the orders. If you wanna stay in the Chaotix, kid, you listen to me and do what I say."

"What am I getting myself into..?" the preteen chameleon slowly climbed out of bed, and sluggishly made his way downstairs to the front door of the little cottage that the team was occupying.

"Yes?" he yawned, opening the door to face the potential client.

Nobody was there. Only a heavy rainfall and a wail from an infant.

Who in the right mind would play Ding Dong Ditch at two in the morning, and in this downpour? the chameleon thought to himself as he shut the door and headed back upstairs to his awaiting cot.

...

Wait, the wail from an infant?!

The preteen whipped back and swung the door wide open, looking down to the stoop. There in a hive-shaped basket laid a little baby bee, crying in the heavy rain. Quickly, the chameleon picked up the basket and brought it inside out of the rain, then looked back outside for any trace of the sender. "Hello?" he cried out, "Anyone there?"

No answer. Judging the time between the last knock and when he answered the door, the person must have been long gone by now.

The baby was more important at the moment. So he closed the door and turned his attention to the baby, picking him up, changing his wet blanket to a warm, dry one, and coddling him. "There, there, don't cry little one..."

"Espio, what's all the hub bub down here?" a voice boomed from upstairs. About a moment later, down came a tired teen crocodile, not even bothering to cover his yawn. "How long does it take to answer a door?" he asked, "Didn't you tell that person to bug off?"

"That's not very good for business, boss," replied Espio. "Besides, I think we have our very first case. Look!" He turned sideways, showing the infant insect in his arms.

The sleepiness in Vector's eyes went away as they went wide at the sight. "A baby?"

"Someone left him here," said Espio, "I couldn't see anybody in the thick rain."

"What kind of deadbeat, irresponsible parent leaves their baby at some stranger's doorstep?" Vector growled, "Especially a little cutie like this one! Oh we're getting to the bottom of this for sure!"

"How are we going to be paid, sir?"

Vector stopped a moment. "Good question, kid... You're already showing the signs of a detective!"

"Thank you. I try."

"As for payment..." Vector rubbed his chin, "Guess once we track down the deadbeat, we'll shake payment out of 'em."

"What do we do with the baby until then?"

"Guess we're stuck with 'im," Vector approached the two, "So the parent leave a note or anything?"

Espio inspected the crying baby, "Just a little charm necklace made of gold."

"GOLD?!" Vector wasted no time digging through the child, locating the charm, and yanking it off, "And here's our payment!"

"Vector, really!" cried Espio, "I know you're the leader, but I have to disgress! That belongs to the baby!"

Vector groaned. "Fine... Doesn't look like it can get us more than a few mobiums anyway..." He carefully placed it back around the baby's neck. "There you go, little guy... C'mon, no more crying... Cootchie cootchie coo!" He tickled his large finger under the bee's chin. Almost instantly did the crying melt into a squeal of joy. "There, that's a good boy."

"Hm... You're a natural, boss."

"Who, me? Nahhh... I'm not really into little kids..."

"You took me in, didn't you?"

Vector paused briefly, before sheepishly putting a hand behind his head. "Okay, maybe I am a little..."

Espio smiled and looked down at the child once more, getting a better look at the charm. "Hey Vector, look... Our first clue." The croc leaned in to see what the young chameleon was pointing at. "It says... 'Charmy'..."

"Charmy..?" Vector scratched his head, "What's that supposed to mean? Is that his name? His home? The brand of charms he's wearing?"

"My guess is as good as yours."

The baby bee began raising a fuss once more. The crocodile let out a loud yawn. "We'll figure it out in the morning. It's not like whoever dropped the kid off is coming back anytime soon." He turned and made his way up the stairs, "Come on, let's hit the sack. We need to be well-rested if we're gonna find this guy."

"But boss, the baby. He's crying again."

"Then make him stop. Sooner the better." Vector disappeared up the steps.

Espio sighed, and cradled the baby some more. "Welcome to the group. You don't know what you're getting into... Charmy."

* * *

"Queen Vespa!"

The tall, dark hornet female wickedly turned. "Welcome back, Poyse," she droned to the taller, male hornet who took a knee and bowed. "I trust you've returned with good news."

"I have, your highness," Poyse raised his head, "I would never dream of returning to your highness empty-handed." He stood back up and snapped his fingers. In response, two hornet soldiers marched in, holding a smaller, female honeybee by her arms, and threw her to the ground.

The hornet queen smirked devilishly. "Queen Bea..."

The bee glanced up in shock. "Vespa..!"

"Why did you even bother running?" Vespa strutted over to Bea, "I already destroyed your castle, enslaved your people, and murdered your husband. Your colony belongs to me! Now..." She stooped over the bee queen, "Step down and give me your crown."

Bea shuddered. "... Never..."

"I said step down!"

"No!"

Vespa slapped her hand across Bea's cheek. "The next hit will sting much worse! Step down or else!"

"I still have my pride... and my duty to stand up for my colony..."

Vespa flapped her wings and levitated slightly off the ground. She then aimed her bottom quarters towards Bea, and from under her dress, a long, sharp stinger protruded. On the tip, a small, green substance. "Are you willing to die for them, Bea?"

Bea shut her eyes tightly, shaking. "You can kill me, but my son lives on!"

Vespa raised her eyebrows. "Son..? You mean..." She landed and whipped around to the male hornet, "Poyse! I ordered you to chase both them down!"

Poyse stepped back defensively. "My orders were to track down the queen! There was no mention of a child!"

"You idiot!" the hornet spat, "The child was traveling with the queen! When I said chase the queen, you should assume I mean the queen and her BABY!"

"With all due respect, I am not a mind reader."

"You need a mind to do that," mused Bea, snaring a lethal response from Poyse. The hornet withdrew a sword and aimed it at Bea.

"Insolent little-"

"STOP!" Vespa screeched. Poyse froze in his tracks, allowing the hornet queen to grab the bee by the chin. "Where's the boy?"

"I'll never tell..."

"WHERE?!"

"I gave him away to save him!"

Poyse raised his sword once more. "Perhaps I can convince this woman to speak..."

"No..." Vespa responded, "What harm can a baby do?"

"Even the smallest detail can make a big difference."

"Then if you're so worried, go find him." She grabbed Bea by the throat, "I will take care of the queen." The hornet licked her lips, "I've been wanting to do all sorts of harm to you for the longest time. Now's my chance..!"


	2. COFFEE

_Remember about six years ago? During that dark, stormy night? Y'know, that baby we took in?_

_Our very first case..._

_We never did solve it, did we? Those deadbeat parents got away scot clean..._

_Y'might say not being able to solve your first case doesn't look good for a team of detectives. 'Specially when your members tend to come and go like rebel teens (which, actually, most of us were...)_

_In the end, it became just the three of us. Y'might even say things went downhill since gettin' our first case..._

_I wouldn't. Wouldn't trade my team for all the money in the world._

_In fact, ya ask me, I think the best thing ever came from never solvin' that case..._

* * *

"CHARMY!"

The large crocodile's bellow could be heard for miles, enough to shudder the ground around the Chaotix Detective Agency household.

Espio sighed, his meditation once again disrupted by his teammates' shenanigans.

Vector, the large crocodile who had bellowed, was chasing a small bee from one side of the house to the other. The bee was shaking what looked to be a canister in his arms.

"CoffeecoffeecoffeecoffeeCOFF EE!"

"Give me back that coffee canister!"

The chameleon groaned. "I told you letting him taste that stuff was a bad idea."

"I didn't think he'd actually like it!"

"COFFEEE!" Charmy did flips in the air, just out of Vector's reach.

"Dammit, Charmy, get down here!"

"No, you'll take my coffee away! I've got a big buzz going on here!"

*CRASH!*

Charmy did a quick 180 in the air, leaving Vector to crash full-force into the cemented brick wall, leaving a deep imprint.

Espio cringed at the sight. "That's gonna leave a mark."

"Yeah!" chirped Charmy, "That poor wall!" He burst out into laughter, doubling over, and leaving himself wide open.

"Gotcha!" Vector cried, having pulled himself free and grabbing the little bee, who squirmed in his grasp.

"Lemme go!" he cried out.

"Not 'till ya hand over that coffee!"

"Never! You'll never take me ali-ZZZZZZZZZZZ..!"

And just that quick, Charmy's caffeine-kick had run its course. Vector blinked, astonished. "Now _there's_ a kid who can't handle his caffeine..."

* * *

Just outside, a young boy approached the Agency. He was no older than 10, and he appeared to be a mix of a badger and mole. In his hand, a photo of two bees, one an adult female, and the other an infant.

Here they are... These guys were supposed to be the greatest detectives in the land. The boy wasn't sure if it was all true or not, but the clients were after this kid for six years. Even the bounty-hunters he had come to consider his family were having trouble locating his whereabouts!

If anybody could find this baby, it had to be the best detectives ever! Even if they turned out to be total fakes, it wouldn't hurt to try... I'm sure the Queen wouldn't mind dishing out the money for their search...

... as long as she didn't know about it.

Well, here he goes...!

* * *

"Maybe now we can get a little peace and quiet," mumbled Espio as Vector carefully laid Charmy on the cushioned sill of the window.

Just as he said that, the doorbell rang. And Charmy bolted upright, wide awake. "Doorbell!"

Espio blinked. "You recovered quickly."

"Clients!" Vector grinned and clenched his fists, "Finally some pay!"

"I'll get the door!" Charmy chimed.

Vector turned. "And I'll go sit at my desk and look professional. Espio, you clean up the mess."

"But I didn't make any of it."

"We all have to pitch in and do our parts."

Espio figured it'd be much easier on himself if he just did as he was ordered, rather than fight the logic that Vector wasn't doing a damn thing.

* * *

'Okay, Jiffy, don't be nervous. The Fanged Snipers are counting on you to find that baby bee... Just say you're trying to find somebody. That's what detectives do! They help look for things!'

But then the boy thought of something else...

'What if they ask why? And how do I know him? What if they find out about OUR client? Or worse, what if they find out about Nack and and who everyone else is?!'

Jiffy figured he didn't figure this whole thing out...

But too late now! The bell was rung, and the door was creaking open! Jiffy gulped, and straightened up. He'll have to play it by ear now...

"Hi!"

The badger/mole mix froze...

He was looking at the face of a bee.

The bee they were looking for!

Only he wasn't a baby.

He had to be... six years old, maybe.

Wait, six?! It's been six years since the baby bee disappeared!

These guys WERE good! They found him before he could ask for their help!

Assuming of course, this was the same bee...

Jiffy quickly glanced down at the picture. Looked just like him! Same facial features, looks a lot like the mother...

It's gotta be him! Possibly...

Maybe he'll take him in anyway just to be on the safe side.

"Uhhhh... Why you lookin' at me like that?"

Jiffy blinked. He had been staring at the bee's face all this time. He wasn't even aware how much time had passed.

Was he really that slow a thinker? Nack wasn't being sarcastic...

What was he doing again? Oh right! The bee!

He took a step forward and raised his hands, ready to make the-

The door opened further. Jiffy froze once more.

"Can we help you?"

Standing with the bee now was a dark purple chameleon, wearing all sorts of ninja gear...

A NINJA?!

This bee was well protected! Jiffy would have to get Nack and the others to help on this one!

No, he can't just turn and run away now! The Fanged Snipers wouldn't do that, and neither will he!

But he can't fight a ninja! He'd be killed in an instant!

Maybe they don't suspect anything. He could probably play it cool, make some sort of distraction, and grab the bee when the ninja isn't looking. He could totally get away with-

"What's going on here?"

Behind the bee and the chameleon walked up a tall, muscular, and by means VERY frightening looking crocodile. If Jiffy wasn't frozen before, he was a solid popsicle now. "You want somethin', kid?"

"Uh...uh...uh..."

The crocodile wasn't looking any friendlier. He glared daggers down at Jiffy, even gave a bit of a snarl. "Look, kid! You want our business or not?"

"... Wrong house!"

*SLAM!*

Vector slammed the door shut hard. "Damn solicitors..."

* * *

Jiffy ran down the forest path as fast as he could. He huffed and puffed, nearly exhausted, but he couldn't let up now!

Not only were those guys lethal looking, but... the bee! THE BEE! The bee was with them!

He couldn't wait to tell Nack and the gang.


	3. Bee-napped

It was late at night, much late, past everybody's bedtime late. That would have been the perfect time to break in the house. Even bodyguards needed their sleep, and they weren't even suspecting a thing.

That's what Percy the Monkey thought anyway.

He was the slickest, slyest of the group. He was the go-to guy when it came to breaking in homes and nicking what needed (or rather, wanted) to be nicked. He was never caught once, so a team of dopey detectives was nothing.

Percy used his stealthy picking skills to quietly unlock the door. Everybody upstairs wouldn't hear a thing. Slowly, the snow-blue monkey opened the door which such control that not even a creak would escape and alert those who occupied the house. He nodded to his teammates, indicating he had things under control, and slipped inside, careful as possible with his steps.

He suddenly halted at the sound of a rumbling snore. To his left, the large scary looking crocodile that Jiffy had mentioned. He was leaning back on his chair, hands behind his head, feet propped up on top of his desk, sound asleep.

Not so scary now, huh?

But what was he doing sleeping downstairs? Being the look out? Some look out, sleeping on the job...

Percy moved his way past the sleeping crocodile and to the steps. Using his long tail, he lassoed and grabbed the upstairs railing, hooking himself, and quietly climbed up. He could have used the steps, but that would risk too much noise.

Besides, this was much cooler.

Now that he was upstairs, he had to locate the room of the young bee. There were three doors to choose from. Which one was his?

Let's try door number one...

Nope. Bathroom.

Door number two?

Completely empty.

Then by process of elimination...

He swung open the bedroom door...

Only a cot and a futon. No bee. Where were-?!

"Can I help you find something?"

Percy froze. Someone actually caught him?!

He didn't have the chance to even turn his head when he was grabbed from the collar and swung violently into the wall, to face a chameleon and a kunai knife to his throat. "You're foolish to break into the home of three detectives," he hissed.

"Impossible!" Percy spat, "Nobody's ever caught me red-handed before!"

"Unlucky for you, because I am not only a detective," Espio pressed the knife closer to Percy's throat, "I am also a ninja! You're lucky I didn't kill you... due to the fact this is a kid's genre."

"You're not such a great ninja," sneered Percy.

Espio seethed, "How dare you! You have yet to see me unleash my full potential!"

"If you had such great potential, you'd notice my tail wrapped around your ankle!"

Espio glanced down and sure enough, Percy's long tail was wrapped tight. Before he knew it, the chameleon was upside down and tossed down the steps. Fortunately, he had enough skill to roll and upright himself upon reaching the bottom without too much injury.

"Hmm... rmph... keep it down, Espio, I'm tryin' to sleep here," Vector mumbled, never once opening his eyes.

"Vector, wake up!" Espio shouted, "We've got prowlers!"

"Tell 'em to come back in the morning..."

"Dammit, wake up!" Espio jumped over and kicked Vector's chair, sending the sleepy crocodile tumbling backwards and into the wall.

"Owww!" Vector cried, "Damn it, Espio! You'd better have a good explanation for that!"

"We've got PROWLERS!" Espio grunted.

"Prowlers...?"

"Mercanaries, rather," spoke an unfamiliar voice.

Suddenly, Espio had a sword around his throat. This woke Vector up completely and he jumped to his feet.

"Where's the bee?" the sword-bearer, a tall, brown-furred ferret, snarled.

Vector raised an eyebrow. "The bee? Charmy?" He then knitted both eyebrows again, "Why? What do you want with him?"

"If you want your friend to live through this, you'll tell me now!"

Vector smirked. "I wouldn't do that if I were you..."

"Why? What will a fool like yourself do?"

"It's not me you should be worryin' about..."

The sword was grabbed, and Espio slid out and away with ease, twisting the sword from the ferret and into his own control. "Like I said, ninja!" he shouted, pointing the sword at the ferret.

In response, the ferret narrowed his eyes and unsheathed a second sword. "Weapons master. This should be fun."

"Keep him busy, Fargo!" the front door slammed open, and Percy raced back in, "We'll find the bee!"

"I dunno what you guys want with Charmy," Vector bellowed, "But you can't just rampage into other people's homes like that! Unless you wanna hire us for something, get out!" The crocodile launched himself at the monkey, wrestling him to the ground. Once he felt he had a good grip, he picked him up and marched towards the door... only to receive a sudden kick to the gut. "OOOF!" Vector ended up dropping Percy, who then tried to run the opposite direction, but his long tail was suddenly snagged. "Get BACK HERE!" Vector growled, pulling him in.

"Jiffy! It's up to you!" cried Percy.

"Aw, man... Okay!" From the door, the young badgermole from the other day ran in, looking both ways, not sure where to start.

Vector looked over at him. "You?!" he shouted, "Why I oughta-"

*BAM!*

With his head turned, Vector failed to notice Percy grabbing a vase and slamming it on Vector's head.

"Vector!" Espio cried, turning to his friend, but finding himself turning back to counter the sword Fargo had swung with his. The ferret reared back and swung another blow, to which Espio also blocked, again and again.

Percy grabbed Vector by his gold chain and pulled his face up to his. "Where's the bee?!"

"The bee..?" Vector was still in a daze and couldn't think properly, "Did you check the cabinet? That where he sleeps..."

"Don't tell them that, you idiot!" Espio shouted, and fell backwards, having been distracted and nearly took one of Fargo's swipes.

"Get to the cabinet!" Fargo ordered.

Both Jiffy and Percy made a dash for the nearest cabinet, but it was Percy that was grabbed by Vector and yanked back for another pummeling, leaving Jiffy to reach the cabinet and swing it open. "GOTCHA!"

Empty.

"What the..?"

Vector slammed Percy into the wall. "What'ja do with Charmy?!"

"I didn't take him!" the monkey cried.

"Where is he?!" Fargo demanded, slamming his sword against the one Espio held.

"That's what WE'D like to know!" Espio fought back.

"Where in the world did that bee disappear to?!"

_*flush*_

The washroom door opened, and out casually walked a half-sleeping bee. "Drank too much coffee..."

He blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes, making sure what was in front of him was actually happening. Were Espio and Vector really fighting against three funny strangers? "Hm... I leave the room for five minutes and there's havoc?"

"That's him!" shouted Percy, "Jiffy grab him!"

"Got it!" the badger/mole launched at Charmy, hands extended. Right before he could reach him, the bee took to the air. "Huh?"

"You missed," Charmy smiled.

"Get back here!" Jiffy jumped and grabbed for him, but Charmy evaded with ease.

"Nyah nyah! Can't catch meeee!"

"Charmy, get out of here!" shouted Vector, "Run!"

"Aw, why?" the bee paused and pouted, "I wanna play with you guys too!"

"I've got ya now!" Jiffy managed to snag Charmy by the foot and yank him down, trapping him with his arms. "You're not getting away from me that easily!"

*STING*

"OW!" Jiffy let go out Charmy.

"That was easy," grinned the young bee.

"Grrrr! Get back here!" Jiffy grabbed for Charmy once more, only to receive another harsh sting on the top of the head, "OW!"

"Jiffy, stop playing around and grab him already!" Fargo shouted while fighting with Espio.

"I'm trying, he keeps stinging me!" Jiffy wailed.

"Oh for Pete's sake, I'll do it!" Percy went for the two, but was suddenly grabbed by Vector.

"YeeeHAW!" Vector sang, swinging Percy by the tail like a lasso, then letting go, sending him hurtling towards Fargo.

Fargo saw it coming and ducked away in time, and was left open for Espio to smack the sword out of his hand. "You're beat!" Espio announced.

"Not quite!" Fargo whipped out a few hidden knives and threw them at Espio, who used his sword to deflect them, and thus leaving HIMSELF wide open for Fargo to spin-kick the sword out of his hands, and leaving him time to pull another knife.

Vector ran for Charmy, but stopped suddenly when Fargo's knife was thrown at him, just barely missing and impaled itself to the wall. Espio in response tackled Fargo to the ground. "I will not allow you to harm my friends!"

As the two wrestled, Vector turned his attention to Charmy, but was jumped on from behind. "I've got your back, buddy!" Percy snided as he clung to Vector's backside and wrestled him to the ground, "I've always wanted to try gator wrestling!"

"Too bad you're wrestling a crocodile instead!" Vector shouted, purposely falling backwards on the ground, putting as much force on impact at possible to crush Percy.

Charmy looked at all the wrestling around him. "This is so awkward to watch..."

"Gotcha again!" Jiffy grabbed the bee once more and made a run for it, but let go quickly. "OW!" Now it was his turn to be chased. "Get away from me!"

"Tag, you're it!" Charmy sang, stinging Jiffy in the backside, "You're it again!"

"You call yourself a ninja?!" Fargo spat, holding Espio to the ground, "You're too weak!"

"Nobody dishonors me!" Espio replied, kicking Fargo off and tackling him once more.

"Owwww!" Percy howled as Vector sat on his back, pulling his arms back as far as they could go, "You're stretching my spine!"

Vector gave a devious grin. "Now let's see if you're ticklish! Cootchie coo!"

"No, don't! Noooooo!"

All while the chaos was going on, outside, a purple weasel was sitting by his airbike. He was growing more and more impatient by the sound of the entire calamity going on.

Morons... He was working with a bunch of morons...

The weasel sighed. If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself...

He pulled out a violet-colored grenade, used his big fang to yank out the pin, and hurled it through the window. "Incoming!"

Everybody froze at the sound of the window crashing and the plop of a little cast-iron ball against the floor.

"GRENADE!" Vector cried, jumping forward and wrapping his body around it in an attempt to shield the others.

POW!

Not an explosion, but rather a small pop. The blown grenade emitted a purple smoke that quickly engulfed the room. Being on top, Vector got the worst of it. "Whew..." he sighed, "Nighty night..."

Espio slumped forward, "Kn... knock out... gas..."

Charmy slowly fell from the air and slumped to the floor. "Need... coffee..."

A snide chuckle emitted from the front door. The purple weasel allowed himself in, holding a handkerchief to his mouth so not to inhale the gas, and observed the scene around him. The crocodile and the chameleon were out for the count, and so was their little target for that matter.

He looked around some more, and his grin promptly turned to a growl.

His own team was knocked out as well.

He sighed, figuring that he should just take the bee, leave these goons and get the reward all to himself... but then again, anybody is capable of singing like canaries.

Why him?

So after tying up the bee and sticking him in the compartment box of his airbike, he dragged each one of his teammates outside, piled them on the back of the bike, and took off into the night.


	4. Oppa Gangdam Style

"ungh... ugh..."

Espio rubbed his head. Man did it throb... What happened..?

He looked around the room. It was completely trashed, complete with a completely trashed crocodile sound asleep in the middle.

The things that occurred last night... Those three burglars, they were mercenaries... and they were after-

"Charmy?!" Espio was on his feet in no time, whipping his head back and forth, trying desperately to find his bee companion. He rushed to the cabinet, to the washroom, to the kitchen, and even shouted upstairs. Nowhere to be found.

He was gone.

"Vector, get up!" Espio knelt by the sleeping croc, shaking him wildly.

Vector gargled on his saliva a bit, and turned away. "Five more minutes..."

"Wake up! This is important!"

"...zzZzz... was I partyin' last night or sumthin...? gotta rest it off..."

Espio frowned. Vector was a big guy, and because his selfless act of jumping on the grenade, he got the most amount of knock-out gas. This was going to be hard...

Maybe...

With great, utter stealth, he carefully slipped Vector's wallet out of his glove, pulled out a few bills, and waved them in front of his snout.

"MONEY!" Vector's eyes popped wide open as he sat up suddenly.

Espio smirked. "Works everytime."

"Wait..." Vector sniffed, "I recognize that scent... That's MY money!" He snagged it back from the chameleon, "What are you doing going through my wallet?!"

"I had to wake you up. We've got an emergency."

"You'd BETTER have an emergency, trying to steal my money! I should dock your next pay for teasing me like that!"

"Charmy's missing."

"Charmy- Wait, wha?" Vector was now officially with it.

"Those events from the middle of the night... They really happened," Espio explained, "Those mercenaries were after Charmy. They knocked us out, and took him."

"Who were they?" the croc asked as he and his friend rose to their feet.

"No idea. Though that ferret, he was a weapons master. He can use any type of weapon from swords, to guns, to anything. His technique however seemed familiar... if I can recall what it was, I can trace it back to where he came from and what he does."

"We don't have time to try and remember things, Espio," said Vector, "We gotta get out there and find some clues!"

"You look for clues," Espio headed upstairs, "I'll look back on my Art of Fighting history books."

"Hey, who's supposed to be giving orders here?" Vector grumbled, but the ninja ignored him and was already up the steps. "Great... Never was good at pickin' up clues. That's Charmy's department..." He gave a low sigh, "Hope the little guy's okay..."

He scratched at an itch just below his chest, and promptly heard a "clink" afterwards. Looking down, he noticed bits and pieces of what used to be a purple grenade. Vector thought back a moment... he did recall jumping on top of a grenade before passing out.

A clue!

He knelt down and picked up the grenade remnants.

* * *

Down the road the hoverbike raced at top speeds, Percy at the wheel, Jiffy behind him, and Fargo and Nack in each the sidecars.

In the compartment box laid a tied up bee from neck to feet. Even his stinger couldn't reach the tight rope. He too had eventually woken up, and screamed to be released. When his demands were not met, he turned himself around and pounded his little feet against the lid of the box, only to be told to shut up.

He yelled, screamed, pleaded, but being ignored the entire time, eventually got bored... and began singing.

First, it was Song That Never Ended. Then somehow, it ended and turned to Sonic Heroes. Then it was the Oscar Meyer baloney song which segued into the ABC song.

"Now I know my ABC's!" Charmy sang aloud, "Next time won't you siiiing wiiiith MEEEEEEEEEE!"

Finally, a long bout of silence.

...

*THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP*

"STOP THAT!" Jiffy screamed, being on the back, he could feel the thumps the most.

"Can I come out now?" Charmy whined.

"NO!"

"Why not?"

"You may not know it, kid, but you've got a bounty on your head!"

"A bounty? The only thing I've got on my head is a helmet!"

"Bounty means you're worth money. You're our ticket to a big reward!"

"Ooo, a reward? Can I have some of that?"

"No! We're handing you in!"

"Where?"

"To-"

"JIFFY!" Fargo shouted, "Stop talking to the bounty!"

Jiffy cringed at the scolding. "Riiiight... sorry."

"Come on, lemme out! Pleeeeaase?"

Ignored once more.

Silence.

"... My baloney has a first name, it's o-s-k-e-r!"

"GYAHHH!" Percy veered off the road, turning the airbike with such force that Jiffy went tumbling to the ground. Once it came to a halt, the monkey leaped off, and pulled from the side of the airbike a crowbar. "That does it! I'm wasting this brat!"

"Percy, no!" Fargo shouted.

Percy ignored Fargo and opened the compartment box. Charmy wasted no time hopping out. "Freedom!"

*PLOP*

He landed face-first into the dirt road, wings bound, unable to fly. This gave Percy the perfect opportunity to raise his crowbar and ready to smash the bee to pieces...

Had Nack not been there to yank the weapon out of his hands. "Get a hold of yourself!"

"I can't take it anymore!" Percy screeched, "He doesn't SHUT UP! You were there! You heard how annoying he can be!"

"I don't care HOW annoying he gets," Nack snarled, tapping the tip of Percy's nose with the crowbar, "We ain't killing the kid. That's final!"

"You always were soft when it came to children," Percy narrowed his eyes, stealing a glance over at Jiffy, who was brushing himself off and saddling back up on the airbike.

"It's nothing like that," Nack walked over to Charmy, trying to crawl away like an inchworm, and grabbed him by the end of his ropes, "You kill this kid, you kill our bounty, and the Queen kills you... if I don't first!"

Percy sighed. "I just can't take him anymore!"

"Relax... We're almost there. Look!" The weasel pointed off to the distance. Over the horizon, nestled between the mountains was a giant, golden beehive colony.

Charmy got a good look as well, and was beyond amazed. "Ooooo! What's that place?"

"That, my little friend, is the Honey Hive Colony... Your home, sweet home."

"My... home?"

Unfortunately, that was all Charmy was told before he was thrown back into the box.

* * *

Vector studied the purple grenade pieces hard. It seemed like a self-destructing weapon, but every weapon had some sort of serial code or something to trace it. He had to find that something, even if there wasn't much left...

"Hmmmm..."

He squinted at one of the smaller pieces. He opened a drawer, pulled out a magnifying glass, and in the traditional detective style, used it to study his clue.

"E..."

He stared at the other pieces, paying close attention to the details. There was the standard grenade designs, but some of the tiny pieces weren't all squares... some seemed to spell something...

Vector had to figure out what...

After painstakingly going through each piece, he managed to put together some letters... Now it was only a matter of spelling something...

Y... S... A... Y...D...S...E... E...D...

"Y'said seed...?" the croc shook his head, "No..."

It looked familiar... Hmmm... Where has he seen these words? Maybe...

He arranged the letters once more.

E... A... S... Y... E... D... D... Y...S...

"I GOT IT!"

The shout came from both Vector and Espio, who was running downstairs with a book in his hands.

"I know who it is!" Espio exclaimed, slamming the book on top of Vector's desk.

"Hey, I'm working here!"

"So am I!" Espio pointed to a page, "Look at this! Across the land, Emerald Sea is a dark, dangerous place that hosts many tribes, including a band of ferrets, who invented a fighting technique known as the Gangdam Style."

"Gangdam...?" Vector immediately put his hands in front of him and looked as if he was riding an invisible horse. "Like this?"

"NO!" Espio spat, "Gangdam, not Gangnum... Gangdam is a term used in Emerald Sea for 'Group of Weapons'. They mastered the use of all weapons and more in one battle.

"However, there was ONE ferret that went too far with this style..." Espio pulled out a printed document. Vector picked it up and read.

"What's this?"

"Unlike you, I actually keep up with the current events... This was recent."

Vector studied the news story. "Station Square..." he read, "A security guard was found brutally slain by a dagger when the First Union Bank he was patrolling was broken into."

"The Gangdam ferrets are lethal, but aren't known to kill unless threatened," said Espio, "This is no ordinary Gangdam... this is a ROGUE Gangdam. Charmy's in bigger danger than we thought!"

Vector nearly dropped the paper. "This IS bad!" he cried, "But what about the other guys?"

"Keep reading," Espio ordered.

Vector looked back on the paper, reading near the end. "Police have no evidence, but suggest the Fanged Snipers could be behind the robbery... Fanged Snipers..?"

The detectives pointed to each other. "Nack the Weasel!"

"I had a feeling that furball was behind all this!" Vector angrily rolled up the paper and threw it at the wall.

"What makes you say that?" asked Espio.

Vector grinned in response, "I did a little sleuthing myself. And I happen to know his favorite hideout."

"Oh really?"

"Yup." the croc heaved the book of his desk and pointed his magnifying glass at the grenade pieces. "Ever been to 'Easy Eddy's?"


	5. Nic the Informant

What WAS 'Easy Eddy's' anyway?

Vector explained to Espio on the way over that it was a weapon's specialty shop, that also served like a Starbuck's for delinquents and prosecuted criminals. It was also a known favorite hangout for Nack the Weasel. If he wasn't here, chances are someone associated with him was.

So why didn't Vector do anything about the criminals there?

He wasn't THAT kind of detective. He just liked to find missing things.

But any good detective should have connections to those types of leads, just in case.

Easy Eddy's was not exactly homey. Once the two reptilian detectives entered the place, it was made clear that their presence was not a welcomed one. Conversations lowered, if not completely stopped, and intimidating stares bore through their bodies. Vector and Espio calmly ignored them and went on their way until they could find what they wanted.

Eventually, Vector managed to spot somebody who could help. He nudged Espio towards a table in the far corner, occupied by a female weasel wearing a brown tank, brown hat, and brown boots. Most notable was her big fang on the side of her mouth.

"Nack?" Espio asked.

Vector shook his head. "Nope. His sister, Nic."

The chameleon rolled his eyes, "You sure it isn't Nack in drag?"

The two approached the female weasel, whose feet was propped on the table, and her face buried in the newspaper she held up, paying no mind at all to the detectives.

Vector slammed his hand on the table, grabbing her attention. "We need to ask ya a few things, missy."

Nic lowered the paper, and her eyelids. "Whattya want?"

"Where's your brother?" Vector growled.

Nic raised her paper once more, "How should I know? Haven't talked to the guy in ages."

The crocodile snatched the newspaper and ripped it away, tossing it to the side, "Then find out where he is!" he roared.

The weasel cringed, "Sheesh! What's the big deal?"

"He has a friend of ours, alongside a dangerous mercenary," said Espio, "So you can understand why Vector here is a little impatient at the moment."

"Ohhhh, I see," Nic gave a sly, toothy grin, "And I'm yer only hope of finding yer pal alive, huh?"

Vector sneered, "In a way, I guess..."

"Maaaaybe I can peek through his personal hideout," Nic leaned forward, elbows on the table, fists to the chin, looking as child-like as possible, "If you make it worth my while..."

Vector and Espio glanced at each other, neither agreeing with her terms, but given their situation, nodded and looked back at Nic. "How about we don't lock you up for your crimes."

"What could you possibly have on me?"

Vector straightened up and cleared his throat. "Ahem... Espio?"

"I got nothing," was Espio's reply.

"What?!" yapped Vector, "You're the one that's good on gettin' detailed information on people's backstories!"

"Well pardon me!" Espio yapped back, "But nobody informed me that we would run into Nack the Weasel's female clone!"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" shrieked Nic, "I'm nothing like him! We just happen to have similar genes!"

The two glanced back at the weasel, who straightened herself out and sat back in her seat. Espio had only mentioned such a thing once...

They had something on her.

"Listen, Nicky," Vector leaned in, "You help us out, we'll make sure your brother goes down for this."

"Thought you weren't THAT type of detective," Nic sneered, "What kinda detective are you anyway?"

"The kind that wants my friend back, safe and sound," said Vector, "You gonna help or not?"

"It's hard to take you seriously," said Nic, "You couldn't find your own butt even with two hands behind your back. Do you even have your license?"

"Course I do!" Vector reached into the cuff of his glove and yanked it out, "See?"

Nic glanced down at it. "That's a driver's license..."

Vector looked at it, "Oh, so it is... Hold on.." he put it back, and searched around his glove once more, "Ah, here we go!" He pulled another card out and showed it to Nic.

"... That's a cereal box top with your named scribbled on," she sighed, "You even know what the heck you're doing?"

"Hey I read the 'Detectives for Dummies' book! I've got a pretty good idea!"

Espio nudged the croc to the side. "Let me handle this, Vector..."

He walked up to Nic, leaned in uncomfortably close to her, and peered into her eyes. Nic leaned away as far as she could, disturbed, but Espio's fierce eyes pierced through her own. "I can see through your soul," he murmured, "I know your darkest fears..."

He finally pulled back, "You're used to being the big, tough woman... You're own boss... You don't take orders from anybody. If you're taken in, all that goes away... You're on the bottom chain. You're nothing more than a weak, pathetic little girl..."

Nic pulled away as far as she could. Vector could see her tremble slightly. "You... You don't know..." she stuttered, "You couldn't possibly..."

"Now imagine all that..." Espio smirked, "...But with your brother in your place."

This brightened Nic's mood. "Well if ya put it THAT way!" she shot her hand out, "You boys got'cher selves a deal!"

She twisted in her seat and hopped out, leading the way out the door. "Follow me. I know where that wimpy gang of his hangs out. Can't guarantee he's there, but I know someone's gonna know what he's up to."

Vector looked down at Espio approvingly. "Nice job, Espio," he said, "What was that? Some ninja mind-reading technique?"

The chameleon shrugged. "Nope. Just a lucky guess."

* * *

The place Nic took them was dank and run down. The perfect place for a gang of criminals to deal business.

"This the place?" asked Vector.

"It ain't Disneyland, that's for sure," Nic retorted and stepped forward. Espio and Vector went to follow, but the weasel held up a hand, "Stay here."

"We're coming with you," said Espio.

Vector added with a fist in his hand, "Yeah, maybe we can provide some persuasion."

"These guys won't act kindly to a bunch o' detectives," said Nic.

"And you're any better?" Espio asked, "Didn't you say you and Nack were estranged?"

"They'll take to me more than they will you. I'll get the information you need."

"We're the detectives, remember?" Vector growled.

"Box tops don't count, buddy," Nic smirked and allowed herself in.

Vector and Espio decided to humor her and let her go in alone... for about 30 seconds, until they decided to follow her.

* * *

The interior was just as bad as the outside. Nobody knew the meaning of 'housecleaning'. Strewn clothes and trash littered the halls and the rooms.

The living room of the rundown house was filled with more gang members, mostly consisting of multi-colored weasels. One weasel, Jeff, was playing darts with knives. Another weasel, Karl, played his XBox as if his life depended on it (his virtual life anyway), and the third, Konor, stuffed his face in a pizza.

"Well, well, well..." sang a dog as Nic walked through the doorway, "Look what the trash dragged in."

"Hello, boys," murmured Nic, swaying her hip and placing a hand on top.

"Hello, deadbeat," snarled Jeff, flipping a knife in the air by his fingers. "What brings you to our humble abode?"

"Maybe you can tell me where Brother-Dearest went off to?"

"Claffisiezd inf'amation," Konor responded, his mouth completely filled with pizza to be clearly heard.

"What he means to say," said Karl, never taking his eyes off his game, "Is none of yer business."

"Well, I'm making it my business," sneered Nic.

"Why's that?" asked a lemur, "You make a deal with a detective?"

Nic twitched her nose. "Now THAT'S none of your business."

"Well, we're MAKIN' it our business!" Jeff stepped towards the female weasel, "We gotta home to protect y'know."

"Please, this place ain't worth the dirt on my boots."

"Regardless, you ain't welcome here!" Jeff slammed Nic against the wall, and held the knife under her neck. "Now you go, or you go in pieces."

Nic switched her nose. "I ain't goin' 'till I get what I want!"

"Whatever ya want..." Jeff inched the knife closer, "Y'ain't gettin' it here."

Nic smirked. "We'll see..."

*KA-POW*

Right in the pingas. Jeff sank to the floor.

Everybody in the room dropped what they were doing and lunged at Nic, who ducked away, leaving them to crash into the wall. Those who didn't face-plant the drywall managed to turn and go after the girl. She kicked one away, but no matter how strong or tough one that claim, one against many is still too much, and Nic found herself dangling from the arms of a gorilla who snuck up behind.

Konor cracked his knuckles as he approached Nic. "Ohhhh this is gonna be sweet. Too bad Nack had to be away."

He reared back, aimed for the gut...

...and was suddenly thrown backwards into the wall.

"Coppers!" one of the men cried.

Vector grinned. "Nope, just detectives."

"I knew it!" the lemur charged at the two. Espio easily side-stepped and landed his foot square in the lemur's gut.

The gorilla dropped Nic and went for Vector, grabbing him by the hands. The croc struggled a bit, before he was able to kick the gorilla's legs out from under him. Espio ducked a chair thrown at him and hooked a henchman in the face. And Nic had no trouble throwing Karl to the floor.

All in all, the three held their own rather easily. Once the brawl was over, they remained standing as everybody else was sprawled on the ground in pain.

Nic stretched her arms, "That was a nice stress reliever."

"Yeah,"mumbled Espio, "Only who's not unconscious and can answer our questions?"

"The one trying to drag himself out of the room," spoke Vector, eying Jeff as he pulled himself across the floor towards the doorway. He didn't get far before the crocodile grabbed him by the shirt collar and pushed him up against the wall. "What does Nack want with Charmy?"

"Who..?"

"Our bee friend! Nack and his goons broke into our place and kidnapped him! We wanna know WHY!"

"I'm not sayin' nothin'! You don't scare me!"

Vector gave a low growl. "Look fuzzface! I am NOT in the mood to play any more games! Tell me what Nack's plans are! Or else!"

Jeff twitched his nose, "Or else what?"

"Or else I'll EAT YOU!"

Jeff and Nic were taken back. Even Espio had to raise an eyebrow. "Vector..?"

"You... you wouldn't!" Jeff shook slightly, "You can't!"

"Watch me!" Vector opened wide and proceeded to stick Jeff inside his mouth.

"No! No, no noo!" Jeff cried, "STOP!" Obviously the idea of being food didn't bode well with him, "I'll talk! I'll TALK!"

Vector pulled him back out. "Nack the Weasel! His plans! SPILL!"

"Nack was given a job recently by a hornet," Jeff blurted, "I think his name was General Poyse... of the Hornet Hive."

"What does Charmy have to do with all this?"

"The hornets have been looking for the past several years for the long lost prince of the Honey Hive Colony! They hired Nack to track him down."

"Long lost prince..?" Vector frowned, "Then you all've got the wrong bee, 'cause Charmy's no prince!"

"How do we know that?" spoke Espio, "We don't know anything about Charmy."

"Come to think of it..." murmured Vector, "We never did find out who dropped him off at our house that night, did we?"

"It was YOUR job to look into it!" spat Espio.

"Gimme a break! I was busy with all sorts of cases!" Vector argued back.

"Cases? WHAT cases?! You spend all the majority of your days napping at your desk! You were too lazy to investigate Charmy's origins!"

"I wasn't being lazy! I just-" Vector paused a moment, forced with the truth, "... I just... if we did find out... I just didn't want to give up Charmy."

"That's not very professional, Vector."

"Well I never saw YOU look into the case EITHER, Espio!"

Espio was caught off with that. He hated to admit it, but Vector brought up a good point. Perhaps the reason was the same...

"Helloooo!" Nic grabbed their attentions, "Your friend, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Vector turned back to the weasel he held, "Where is this Honey Hive Colony?"

"What's it matter?" Jeff sneered, "You'll never get there in time. Your pal's probably dead by now."

"WHAT?!"

"General Poyse works for Queen Vespa, queen of the Hornets. Her kingdom overthrew the Honey Hive Colony years ago. All they need now for total control is the head of its prince."

Vector slammed Jeff into the wall once more, "Tell us how to get there!"

"Argh..! Head north, towards the mountains... But you'll only be wasting your time."

Vector threw Jeff across the room, his head slamming against the wall, knocking him out. "Let's go, Espio!" he ordered, "We gotta find this colony and FAST!"

"He's right y'know," Nic crossed her arms, "It's too far off. Unless your name is Sonic the Hedgehog, you'll never make it there in time to save your friend."

Vector snarled a bit. "Thanks for your help..."

"Hey, my help is still available, y'know," the weasel pulled out a small remote and hit a button. "Come on, let's head outside."

Once they left the run-down house, they were greeted by the sight of a long aircraft. "Whoa! Is this beauty yours?"

"Yup," Nic beamed with pride, "I call it the 'Bounty-One'... won it off a trade from an old boyfriend. And she'll get you where you need ten times faster than on foot."

"Not that we don't appreciate the help," said Espio, "But why the sudden interest in aiding us?"

"You kidding?!" Nic spat, "You guys owe me my brother behind bars and as somebody's-"

"Okay, okay, we get it!" Vector quickly interrupted, "Let's just hurry!"

* * *

A/N: Nic the Weasel: Not a fancharacter. Nor are Karl, Konor, and Jeff. All Archie.

And none Ken Penders.

Officially licensed characters belong to SEGA by default.

Sorry for the lack of Charmy. I couldn't think of any good scenes without everything happening too soon and Vector and Espio not getting there in time... He'll appear next chapter. Promise :D


	6. Back At The Hive

Once they were at Honey Hive Colony, Charmy was finally let out of the compartment box of the airbike, much to the bee's delight as he was tired of being stuffed in a small, dark place with nothing to do, and much to the kidnappers' delight as they were getting sick of having to listen to his annoying rambling.

"We're here, we're here!" Charmy chimed as Percy carried him by the back of the ropes.

"Finally..." Percy sighed, "The sooner we get rid of this kid, the sooner my nerves can settle."

"Ooooo!" Charmy looked at the giant hive just before them, settled between the mountains, as everybody walked towards the entrance. "It's so beautiful! This is where I came from?"

"Y'know, you sound pretty excited for a kid whose been kidnapped," Jiffy said, raising an eyebrow at the bee.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I'm scared to death!" Charmy replied, while strangely enough sporting a bright smile, "But I just love this place too! I can't wait to see what's inside!"

At this, Percy couldn't help but snicker. "You're not gonna like it."

Jiffy blinked, looked over at Percy. Just what was that supposed to mean anyway..?

As they neared the entrance, Charmy got a better look at the mountains, noticing some activity. There were honeybees, just like him! "Heeey!" he called, "Over here! Look at me! I'm a bee too!" The workerbees glanced up, looking around. Charmy wished he could wave at them, grab their attentions, but was taken back when a larger insect, a hornet, slapped them with a whip, and the bees went back to work, chiseling away at the mountain.

Come to think of it, why were they all chained up together? And why are those hornets yelling at them and whipping them?

What kind of beehive is this anyway?

* * *

Just as Mr. Monkeyman said, Charmy didn't nearly like it as much as he thought. The interior of the hive was nothing like the beauty of its exterior. The place was dark, dank, run down and all around depressing. Decor was torn down and the beeswax was rotted. What kind of bees would let their hive deteriorate like this?

As they passed the hallways, they entered the main hall. There were many hexagonal passageways in the rotting honeycomb walls, leading to many different rooms. In the center was a tall pier with steps that lead to a wide balcony.

All over the room were more honeybees and hornets. The honeybees outnumbered the hornets, though they were much smaller in size, and usually had a big burly hornet hovering over them as they did tedious tasks like scrubbing the floors or cleaning the walls. Each bee had a chain attached.

One honeybee glanced over as the kidnappers were escorted by, and got a good glimpse at Charmy. She gasped and jumped to her feet, but the hornet slapped her back to the ground.

"Heeey! That wasn't very nice!" Charmy shouted, "Why are you hornets being so mean to these bees?"

"Zip it!" Percy ripped off his sock hat and shoved it in Charmy's mouth.

After navigating through more maze-like hallways, they were finally approached by a group of 3 hornets. Nack stepped forward. "General Poyse?"

"You are correct, good weasel."

Nack grinned. "I'm anything BUT good."

"Let's see if you're good in this sense," Poyse grabbed Charmy from Percy and inspected him. Charmy tried to say hello, but he still had a hat in his mouth. "You sure this is him?"

"He's aged six years, but Jiffy confirmed he is the bee in the photo," said Fargo.

"There's only one person in this hive who can confirm this," Poyse turned and walked down the hallway.

"Hold up!" Nack called, "What about our reward?"

Poyse paused and turned back slightly. "You will receive your reward once it has been confirmed he is indeed the prince and Queen Vespa has her way with him," he replied.

Nack stepped back at this.

"Until then, you're welcome to stay for the 'show'," Poyse continued, "I hope you enjoy."

The hornet general disappeared down the hall, leaving the Fanged Snipers to stand behind. Nack let out a low sigh, turned, and walked off. Jiffy watched him go, and turned towards Fargo and Percy. Fargo boredly took out a dagger and began polishing it with a cloth, while Percy stormed to the wall, slumped down, and folded his arms. "Ah, come on! I would rather have that reward NOW."

Jiffy turned back to Nack, at the far end of the hallway, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, head turned away. "Nack!" the badgermole cried, rushing up to his side. "Nack... what does he mean by 'having her way with him'?"

Nack twitched his nose and turned his head once more, "You don't wanna know. Frankly... neither do I."

"What's she gonna do..?"

Nack glared at Jiffy. "Don't be stupid, kid."

Jiffy wasn't stupid. He knew what it meant. He just didn't want to believe it, nor was that Nack okay with it. "Nack, come on! He's just a kid! A bit annoying, yeah, but you can't kill him!"

"I'm not the one killing him, Jiff-brain!" Nack spat harshly, "I'm not gonna even watch!"

Jiffy didn't back down. "If you know the queen's gonna do something and you don't do anything to stop it, you're just as much a murderer!"

"Look kid, we need the money, okay?"

"For WHAT?!" Jiffy cried, "You're a greedy jerk, yeah, but you NEVER killed to get what you want! Remember the bank robbery? You were on board until Fargo killed the security guard, then you dropped the money and ran! You nearly put a cork in Fargo's ass when we met back up!"

Nack faced away from Jiffy.

"You especially hate getting little kids involved," Jiffy continued, "You don't want to admit it, but you have a soft spot for them. I know this..." Tears formed in the 10-year old's eyes, "...because when I had no one, you took me in..."

"Jiffy..." Nack started, but seethed, "Just... stop! This is what you deal with when you wanna follow in my footsteps! Don't like it, then get out!"

And with that, the weasel turned and stormed off.

"Nack..!" Jiffy called, but his feet froze.

Maybe he didn't want to follow.

* * *

"Queen Vespa!"

Down in the interrogation room in the dungeon area, the queen hornet quickly shut the blinds as Poyse entered the room, Charmy in hand, still muffled as he tried to speak. Vespa decided to humor the boy a bit and pulled the hat out of his mouth.

"Hi!"

"Hello..." she droned, glaring up at Poyse. "Is this really him?"

"The bounty hunters insisted it was, but I figured I'd run him by you first before we present him to Queen Bea."

"Let me get a good look..." said Vespa as she approached Charmy, getting into his face. Even the charmful, energetic friendly bee was becoming unnerved at her presence. Suddenly, she snagged him, feeling all around him.

"Heeey! Whattya doing? Stop that! That... that kinda tickles, actually! Hahaha!"

"I got something!" Vespa reached inside Charmy's vest and yanked off a gold charm necklace.

"Hey that's mine!" Charmy cried, "Give it back!"

"What does it say, your highness?" asked Poyse.

Vespa inspected it closely, and gave a cunning smirk. "Charmy..."

"That's my name!" the bee beamed, before being shoved onto Poyse.

"It's him all right," Vespa grinned maliciously, "That was Queen Bea's pet name for her little prince."

"Prince?" Charmy tilted his head, "Are you talking about me?"

"Well, you ARE Charmy, are you not?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm not a prince. I'm a detective."

"Detective, you say..? You didn't do a good job solving this case. Now you're in trouble."

"That's okay! Vector and Espio are coming to save me!"

Vespa gave a chortle. "Silly children... Nobody is coming for you, little prince."

"They are too!" Charmy shouted, "They do a good job when they wanna!"

"And what makes you so certain?"

"Because they're my friends! They won't give up on me! I know it!"

Vespa shook her head. "Dream on. It's all you have left to do... And speaking of which, it's time I did my part. Poyse, hold him to the window."

The hornet queen left the room, and Poyse approached the window. He grabbed a string and pulled up the blinds, revealing another room; a dungeon cell. And in that cell, shackled to the wall, a distressed, beaten queen bee.

* * *

"Oh _Bea..!"_ Vespa sang as she entered the cell. Queen Bea slowly lifted her head, preparing for the worst. Over the past six years, she had been dealt brutal abuse after abuse by this woman, kicked, slapped, poisoned, and even mutilated, as she was now without her wings and her stinger.

"What do you want now...?" Bea weakly asked.

"Be nice, my queen," jested Vespa, grabbing the bee by her chin and forcing it up, "I've got a little something for you..."

* * *

With Poyse holding him up to the window, Charmy was able to watch as Vespa unlocked the woman bee's shackles, and she fell straight to the floor.

"Is that the queen?" Charmy asked, "Why do you have her chained up? Isn't she supposed to be running the hive? What do you guys do to her?"

Poyse gave no answer.

Vespa grabbed the bee by her arm and forced her over to the window, showing no sign of kindness as she hoisted her up and pressed her harshly against the glass. She glanced down at Charmy, and froze.

Charmy blinked at her.

The woman stared back, almost longingly, and tears formed in her eyes.

* * *

"Charming...?" she murmured as tears began to fall, "Is... that my little Charmy...?"

"Looks like you couldn't hide him well enough," snarked Vespa.

"My... my little prince...!" Bea held her hands to the window, "Charming... little Charmy... CHARMY!"

* * *

The woman was crying out to Charmy, but the glass was so thick he couldn't even hear her words. Her hands were pressed desperately against the window, as if she wanted to reach him. Charmy didn't understand why. He never met this woman before in his life.

But there was something about her... something that made him feel something for her. He wished he could touch her, console her in some way, but his whole body was still tied up. He couldn't do a thing, except try to talk to her.

"Don't worry, lady!" he smiled, "I'll find a way out of this mess, and I'll save you too! I promise!"

* * *

Her little Charmy was speaking to her..! She couldn't hear what he was saying through the thick window, but the fact he was trying to soothe her... that smile... that innocent face...

Bea shook as tears fell down her cheeks. She longed for her little boy... She spent the past 6 years in hell, nearly to the point where she wished she could just die already...

But the only thing that kept her alive was the thought of seeing her young son again one day...

He was so close, yet she couldn't reach him. All she could do was press against the window, stare down at him, and smile back at him as she wept.

"I love you, my little Charmy..."

"That's enough!" Vespa spat as she struck her hand against Bea's face as hard as she could.

* * *

"Hey!" cried Charmy as the queen was thrown to the ground, "Don't you hit her!" He wobbled up and down angrily in Poyse's hands, "You leave her alone! Just wait 'till I get free of these ropes, then you'll be sorry!"

Poyse gave him a harsh shaking. "That's enough out of you!"

The door swung open, and there stood Queen Vespa. "Poyse! Rally the guards and tell them to bring in the slaves." She gave a devilish smile towards Charmy as she held up a dagger. "It's time...!"


	7. Finding Charmy

Nic was right. It didn't take very long to reach the Honey Hive Colony, settled deep between the mountains. Flying in her Bounty-One was much quicker than having to go on foot.

But now came the hard part... Trying to get in.

With all those honeybee slaves chiseling away at the mountain, there were giant hornets floating all over the place. Nic had to land the Bounty-One miles away to avoid being seen. Fortunately, while they weren't Sonic-fast, non-human Mobians had an excellent amount of speed and were able to reach the hive.

Two burly hornets guarded the entrance. It could be easier to have Espio turn invisible and knock them out. But as soon as somebody notices two guards unconscious, or if they even wake up afterwards, somebody would be onto them.

So the chameleon chose to use his invisibility skill... to slap one of the hornets behind the head.

"Hey! Whad'ja do that for?"

"Do whut?"

"You hit me!"

"No I didn't!"

***SLAP*** The other guy.

"Heyy! Don't hit me!"

"I didn't hit you!"

"Yes you did, now it's MY turn!"

The hornets went at each other throats, grabbing each other, and pummeling away. So into trying to hit one another as hard as possible, they failed to notice the purple arm materialize out of nowhere, wave someone in, and a crocodile and weasel sneak past and through the entrance.

* * *

"Sheesh, this place's a dump..." Vector couldn't help but comment.

"That weasel wasn't kidding when he said the hornets took over," added Espio, observing the rotted beeswax, "And not for the better..."

"Guys, you even know where you're goin'?" Nic muttered, "I'm just following you two around."

"She's right," Vector frowned, "We gotta find where they're hidin' Charmy."

"But how?" Espio looked around himself, "This place is like a maze. There's a corridor every corner."

"Maybe if we ask nicely enough, one of those hornet guys could show us the way," Nic snarked.

But as if to answer her request, a group of honeybees rounded the corner, corralled by a large hornet. "Move it, you vermin!"

The slaves halted, puzzled at the three intruders in front of them. The hornet had not yet noticed the three non-bees and poked a slave in the back with an electric prod. "AHH!"

"A bit excessive, don't you think?" shouted Espio, leaping onto the wall and tossing a shuriken at the electric prod, shorting it out.

"Wha-?!" the hornet finally noticed what didn't belong, "Intruders! Section-"

*KA-POW!*

He didn't get to finish as Vector socked him in the face.

The slave bees huddled together. "Who are you..?"

Vector pumped a fist. "We're Team Chaotix!"

"You've come to rescue us?"

"Not quite," Espio answered, "We need to find our friend Charmy. Have you seen him? He's a young boy, six years old..."

"Prince Charming?" one of the slaves cried, "He's returned?! We're saved!"

"No, no!" Vector cried, waving his hands, "Not Prince Charming... _Charmy_! Look, we'll be happy to help you guys, but first we gotta save our pal."

"There's nothing we can do," spoke another slave, "The hornets are too strong... We must escape while we can!"

"Wimps," muttered Nic, "Stand up for yerselves!"

Espio nodded, "Agreed. I've already seen more bees than hornets in this place. They may be strong, but you're stronger in numbers."

"But what could we possibly do..?"

Nic sighed. "Here..." she walked over to the out-cold hornet and snagged a key, "First off, yer gonna get out of those chains," she unlocked the steel cuffs on the bees wrists. "Second, you're gonna grow a pair and fight for your hive!"

"Before all that," spoke Vector, "You're gonna tell us how we can find Charmy!"

"I'm certain he has something to do with this 'big announcement' Queen Vespa is holding for the slaves," said another bee, "Head north. Follow the slaves, but be careful."

"Go on ahead you two, I'll help these losers grow a spine," Nic held up the key and smirked.

Vector nodded. "Thanks Nic," he turned to the chameleon, "Let's go, Espio!"

Espio nodded, and the two ran down the corridor.

* * *

Getting to the center of the hive wasn't the hard part. The detectives knew where to go. It was getting past the hornets and trying to keep from being seen that was the hard part.

Fortunately, they had Espio's stealth and invisibility to sneak through the passageways and clear a path. At some points, he and Vector even managed to blend through the crowd of enslaved bees under the watchful eyes of the hornets. Though the hornets were rough, there weren't as many as there were bees, and it was only a matter of shushing them and assuring they were there to help.

Once they were near, Espio figured they needed more cover, so he pulled Vector into one of the halls, and nodded towards one of the corridors above their heads, designed for a bee to reach. It was no trouble for Espio, whose ninja skills allowed him to scale the wall, but had to pull Vector up behind him.

Finally, after reaching the end of the hallway, they were brought to the main hall. Rows and rows of honeybees stood before a tall pillar, which held a balcony at the top.

"They're probably gathered for this 'big announcement' the queen's gonna make," Vector stated, observing the bees that were ushered in.

"Just keep your eyes peeled for Charmy," said Espio, "He's got to be in this crowd somewhere..."

"Great..." Vector mumbled, looking through the crowd of bees below, "This'll be like finding a needle in a haystack!"

Espio glanced upwards, noticing activity on the balcony. "Something's happening..."

* * *

"Honeybees of the Honey Hive!" Queen Vespa announced loudly for all to hear, "I take it you're in good health?" She let out a sarcastic laugh, as the slaves below moaned and cried.

"You're probably wondering why I called you all here, away from your strenuous labor," she sneered, "You're probably thinking 'What more can this vicious queen do to us?' I like to think I'm being rather generous..."

At the bottom of the pier, next to the stairway up was another hallway, where General Poyse pushed in a beaten, abused Queen Bea. "I give you..." Vespa announced, "Your dear queen!"

The crowd gasped, some even burst to tears, seeing the sight of their beloved queen in such a battered state. "How long has it been? Five years now since I last shown her? Oh I haven't killed her... yet... She was only imprisoned in the dungeon, her only purpose as my little torture toy," the hornet maliciously snickered, "Beaten to my liking, stripped of her wings and stinger, poisoned to the brink of death. But I always gave her the cure... so that I may poison her over and over again!"

"What kind of a vile creature is this woman?" Espio asked, disgusted.

"Vile doesn't even begin to describe her," added Vector, "I can think of a few other terms I'd rather use..."

"But that isn't enough to satisfy me," the evil queen continued, "Oh no... I could do all that and she still has the will to survive... But this... THIS will surely kill her once and for all! What could be worse than seeing your precious queen in a battered state? THIS!"

She lifted up by the back of the ropes a young bee. "Destroying the very child she gave away to save!"

The crowd gave a collective gasp.

"CHAR-!" Vector started, but Espio clamped his mouth shut.

"Shush! You'll give away our position!"

"But that's Charmy!" Vector cried, "We can't just sit here, we gotta save him!"

"I know, but if we jump out now, the entire hornets will be on us! We have to wait for the right time!"

Vespa jumped off the balcony and flew around the hall, waving Charmy in her hands, showing him off. "Get a good look at him!" she shouted, "Get a good look at your little prince before his final moments." She floated back up high above their heads. "All you fools wishing for his return, that you may have a chance to escape my reign..." She then grabbed Charmy by his antennas and hoisted him higher for all to see.

"Owww!" he cried, "That hurts!"

"THIS was your only hope!" Vespa continued, ignoring Charmy, "And now, I am taking it from you!" From under her dress, she unsheathed a dagger and held it to the sky.

"Okay, forget the right time!" cried Espio, "JUMP OUT NOW!" He and Vector leaped out of the hall entrance and into the crowd, trying to push their way through.

But Vespa didn't notice, and she continued, "Say farewell to your beloved Prince Charming!" She pressed the dagger to Charmy's throat.

"No!" cried Vector.

"STOP!" shouted Espio.

*POP*

"Oww!" A large, quick moving cork slammed her in the back of the head. Taken back by it, she had accidentally dropped both Charmy and the dagger.

Charmy, who was tied from neck to ankles, couldn't flutter his wings to catch himself and was left crying out as he fell to the ground. Both Vector and Espio raced forward, hands extended, shouting "I've got 'im, I've got 'im, I've got 'im!"

Neither got him. Instead, somebody jumped on both their heads, using them as a springboard, and catapulted forward, snagging Charmy before he could hit the ground. In a panic, the badgermole clutched the bee under his arm and raced off.

"Charmy?" Bea cried out as Jiffy rushed past her and down another corridor.

"General Poyse, AFTER HIM!" Vespa screeched. Poyse pushed Bea onto another hornet soldier, saluted, and raced after the young boy.

Vespa glared back at the balcony, catching the sight of a purple weasel holstering his popgun and turning tail. "You..! You traitor!"

"I was paid to get you the kid," snarked Nack, "But when you don't pay me, then I don't make things worth your while!" He ran off.

"Somebody get him!" Vespa shouted, and looked down to Vector and Espio, "Grrr... and THEM too! Somebody do SOMETHING!"

"Um... Your highness..?" a hornet meekly called up to her.

"WHAT?!"

The hornet pointed behind the queen, who turned slowly, and her eyes nearly bulged.

Charging their way was a stampede of honeybees. Vector and Espio shrieked and dove for the wall, trying to escape the rampage of bees that attacked the hornets. The two soldiers holding Bea had to let go and fight some off.

"No! No! NOT NOW!" Vespa grabbed at her hair, "Stop these bees! And kill those who get in my way!" Glaring down, she saw Bea wasn't secured and was making a run for it. "Oh no you DON'T!" she snarled, diving down, grabbed hold of Bea, and zipped away.

Vector and Espio, taking shelter against the wall, had witnessed this. Espio looked through the riots. "What happened to Nic?"

"Dunno, dun't care!" Vector replied, "You go help the queen, and I'll go after Charmy!"

"Roger!"

The two dove back into the crowd, pushing their way towards their destination.


	8. Wrapping Up A Few Things

Jiffy ran as fast as he could, Charmy tucked tightly under his arm. He got lucky when the hornets didn't spot him, nor could they grab him when he chose the empty corridor, but it won't be long before they caught up.

"Wow, I sure am popular today!" Charmy chimed, "Everybody wants me!"

"Shaddap!" Jiffy cried, "You're lucky I had a change of heart and wanted to help you!"

"Thanks! I would've gone squished all over the floor if it weren't for you!" Charmy grinned, "Hey, who helped you?"

"Whattya mean?"

"Someone shot that hornet queen before she could slice me. Was that you too?"

"Shot..?" Jiffy slowed down a bit to thinking. For him, running and thinking at the same time was difficult. Who else was there? It couldn't have been Fargo and his guns... THOSE guns would have definitely killed Vespa...

Nack's popgun? But that would mean that Nack..?

"Hey, hold it right there, pal!"

Jiffy looked behind himself, and gave a loud shriek. Charmy smiled broadly. "Hi Vector!"

"It's the scary crocodile!" Jiffy screamed and raced off, just before Vector could grab him.

"I said get back here!" Vector roared, "I ain't gonna hurt you! ... Much!"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Jiffy cried, rounding a corner, and bumping right into Poyse and his hornet soldiers.

The soldiers held up their stingers. "Hand over the bee," Poyse ordered.

Jiffy shuddered and held Charmy close as the soldiers closed in.

Before he knew it, that giant scary crocodile had jumped over him, and slammed his fists into the ground, sending a shockwave that blew the hornets out of the air and crashing to the ground. They were dazed, but otherwise unharmed. Vector would have to pull out the big guns. Just as the hornet soldiers were back on their feet, the crocodile sucked in a giant breath, and let loose a deafening roar, scrambling the brains of the hornets until they finally passed out.

Jiffy was left standing there, astonished. "Woohoooo!" Charmy cheered, "Go Vector!"

The croc brushed his hands and turned to face the badgermole, a deep scowl on his face. Jiffy immediately held up Charmy like a shield. "Don't hurt me!"

"Can you just gimme back my friend, please?"

"TAKE HIM!" he cried, "He's too much to handle!"

Vector grinned as he took Charmy from Jiffy's hands. Those ropes sure were tight, though. Vector had trouble trying to untie them. He finally settled for ripping them off using his powerful teeth.

"Yaaaay!" Charmy chimed once the ropes came off, "Finally, I can fly again!" He did circles in the air, "Woo hoooo! I can stretch my limbs too! Freedom! Free bee! FREE BEE!"

Vector sighed. He saved Charmy for this? Before he could even raise his voice to shut him up, Charmy was suddenly on top of Vector, wrapping his arms around his head in a hug. "Thank yooouuuuuu!"

His fingers were poking him in the eye... But, he couldn't find it in his heart to yell at him. Vector patted the bee in the back. "Anytime."

Charmy pulled back. "Where's Espio?"

"Upstairs, helpin' out the queen."

"Ooo, I almost forgot!" Charmy cried, "The queen bee! We gotta help her! And save this colony!"

Vector nodded. "We're on it!"

"Cool!" Charmy punched his fists in the air, "I'm ready to take on those mean hornets! Lemme at 'em!"

Vector grinned, "I got the perfect place for you then!"

"Bring it!"

* * *

Charmy had ended up being locked in the kitchen. "Hey! Lemme out of here!"

"Sorry, Charmy," said Vector, "But those guys wanted to take your HEAD off! This is for yer own good!"

"No fair!" Charmy pounded on the door, "NO FAIR! I wanna help!"

"Just stay there 'till I come back!"

"But Vectoooorrrr~~~!"

The croc chose to ignore him and turned to Jiffy. "You better get out of here too, kid. It's too dangerous."

With nothing else left to do, Jiffy simply nodded and ran off.

Meanwhile, Charmy continued to cry and pound at the door, trying to get Vector to answer him. Given the long bout of silence, it was obvious Vector and Jiffy were long gone. The bee sighed, turned around, and slumped to the ground, leaning against the door.

His eyes wandered around the kitchen he was in, and the first thing he spotted was the coffee maker.

He grinned mischievously.

* * *

Vespa, meanwhile, was racing as fast as she could, away from the main hall, holding Bea tightly. She may have lost the little prince, but she will not be denied the chance to make her greatest rival ultimately suffer.

*WHOOSH*

She gasped as what looked like a knife whizzed past her head. She turned to see that same purple chameleon from before giving chase and closing in. "Unhand the queen!"

Vespa gained altitude. Surely chameleons could not fly. Looking behind, she was shocked to see the chameleon was still on her tail, leaping from balcony to balcony and scaling the walls. "Get away from me!"

"Release her or else!" Espio pulled out three shurikens and tossed them at her. Before they could strike-

*KA-TING!*

Down dropped a ferret, having used his sword to deflect the shurikens, and landed on a knee before him. Espio was forced to drop as well, facing the ferret.

"I was hoping we would meet again, ninja," Fargo smirked, "I've been looking forward to a rematch."

"I don't have time!" Espio spat, "Get out of my way!"

"What's wrong? You afraid? Pathetic ninja!"

Espio seethed. "You've dishonored me for the last time, Weapon Master!"

The two launched at each other, kunai and sword drawn. Fargo swung, but Espio blocked, relying mostly on his upper arm strength than the size of his weapon. Fargo pulled back and swung once more, and Espio dodged and rolled away. "Don't you know the meaning of fair play?" he spat, "Your sword is much bigger than my kunai!"

"I play my own way," sneered Fargo.

"You dishonor the style of Gangdam!"

"What's it to you?"

"Unlike you, I uphold my honor!" Espio charged at Fargo once more, his head bent, his horn aimed at his chest. Likewise, Fargo raced towards Espio, sword in hand. He raised it over his head and brought it down on the chameleon, who abandoned his attack and rolled away. By doing so, he managed to snag Fargo's leg with his tail and pull him off his feet. Espio got back to his feet, raced up the wall, and leapt off, sticking his foot out and aiming once more for Fargo's chest.

The ferret rolled away in time, leaving Espio to strike the floor hard. Fargo raised his sword once more and targeted the chameleon's head, but Espio evaded with a back flip, striking Fargo in the chin with his foot. He was taken back slightly, enough time for Espio to charge in once more, striking him in the chest with his horn.

Fargo was thrown back into the wall, left wide open for Espio to pull out his kunai and aim once more for him. Fargo dove for his legs, but Espio easily righted himself up and flipped over him. With Fargo now on the ground, Espio had the advantage and went in for the punch, but Fargo pulled back and drew his sword once more. Espio was forced to jump back at another swing. Now it was his turn to have his back to the wall. But as Fargo closed in with his sword, the chameleon took the air, scaled the wall, and back flipped off, appearing directly over the ferret.

Fargo figured if he was coming down, he was going to land squarely on his sword. However, he didn't anticipate Espio's next move.

"Leaf Swirl!"

Espio had conjured up a gust of wind, spinning like a tornado, and Fargo was trapped in the middle. The wind became so strong, it even blew Fargo's sword out of his hand. So that was his plan! Let's see if he likes this! He pulled out a dagger and tossed it to the source of the wind.

Fortunately, Espio's ninja-sense was keen and he was able to catch the dagger before it could strike him. He ceased spinning, letting the wind die down, and he dropped down, dagger in hand towards Fargo. The ferret unsheathed his second sword, prepared for the ninja. It all wound down to who was stronger.

*CLANG*

Espio managed to use the small dagger to knock away the sword and with swift speed, turned the dagger around, and used the handle to strike Fargo in the back on the head.

Unlike the ferret, Espio was no killer. He was satisfied with just knocking Fargo unconscious. That was more than enough to gain his honor back.

But now he had to focus on the real task at hand... Where did that hornet queen take the queen bee?

There was no one around.

Great... Vector was never going to let him hear the end of this... But he figured he'd better regroup with him anyway.

* * *

Nack was getting out of here. It was bad enough the hornets didn't pay for his kidnapping job right away, but why did he have to have SOME sort of heart? Why couldn't he be just cold-hearted as the others and allow that kid to die? Damn that mole/badger hybrid for reminding him he had a conscience! He's on his own from now on!

Nack did his good deed for the day. He wasn't sticking around to do any more good.

*WHA-THUMP!*

The weasel had suddenly face-planted the ground. What the heck did he trip over?

"Where d'ya think YER goin', _'boss'_?"

Nack pushed himself back up, looking behind himself to see a furious Percy, pulling back his tail, which he had used to snag Nack's foot. "You've always been too soft to be the leader," the monkey snarled, "But this is too far! You cost us the big one!"

"We weren't paid to have the kid killed," Nack snarled back.

"You of all people should know if you're gonna be bad, you gotta learn to be dirty. How 'bout I give ya a few lessons?"

Without warning, Percy threw a punch at Nack, who nimbly evaded. "Save yourself the humiliation, Perce!" Nack spat, "They didn't make me the leader for nothin'!"

"You made yourself the leader!" Percy threw back, "And you don't know what'cher doin'!" He whipped his tail at the weasel, who used his arm to brace himself, and ended up having it wrapped around tightly. Percy pulled back, forcing Nack forward, and landed a punch square in Nack's face. "I'm the stealthiest skilled member!" he announced, "All you've got is a bloated ego, which I'm gunna pop!"

Nack was hurt, but wasn't down. "Speakin' of pop..." He yanked his own arm back, this time throwing Percy forward, whipped out his pop gun, and gave Percy a cork right in the face, knocking the monkey backwards.

"Halt!"

Crap! The hornets caught up...

From both directions, a horde of hornet soldiers approached. Nack was surrounded, nowhere to go. All these years, and his bounty hunting career was over, due to having a bit of a heart...

*POW* *POW* *POW*

From behind, the soldiers were taken down, corks blasted in the back of their heads. The soldiers from the other side were up in arms and raced in. Nack leaned back on his big tail and hopped over the charging hornets, blasting more corks from his gun, taking out as many as he could.

*POW* *POW* *POW*

Who was that?

"Take 'em down, boys!"

That voice! Was that...?

The hornets stung and attacked a group of honeybees. Some were taken down, but what was left of the hornet soldiers (that Nack and the stranger didn't knock out) were overcome by the bigger group of former slaves.

Nack's wrist was suddenly grabbed. "Move it!"

"Nic?!"

The female weasel dragged her brother away from the battle of the stingers, racing down the corridor.

"What are you doing here?!" Nack shouted.

"I came to watch you suffer," Nic replied while racing down the hallways, "Come on, follow me!"

"If that's so, why are you helping me?"

Nic lowered her head as she kept running. "I saw what ya did..."

"Don't remind me."

"I dunno why I'm bothering! Here I thought you were being nice, so I was gonna be nice to you."

"Didn't expect that. Thought you hated my guts."

"I do. I should've just left you there for what you did to me!" Nic sighed, "But... after you saved that kid, I figured... I'll give you a second chance."

"I can explain!"

"Save it for when we get outta this place."

The two escaped the hive.

* * *

**A/N: **_"I know this isn't my best chapter. Fight scenes are always a drag with me... plus there's the whole Nack/Nic thing. I REALLY didn't feel like dealing with them, but I couldn't just abandon them, so I whipped up a quick ending for the two. I know that leaves a bunch of unanswered questions between them, but this story isn't about them, so let's say that's for "another story" XD Not that I'm actually gonna write it. ^^; Create your own conclusion. You have my permission._


	9. The Bees' Final Stand

After searching everywhere he could, Espio wound up back in the main hall, still no sign of the queen bee. He did, however, catch back up with Vector, running back from the corridor.

"Espio!" the croc waved his partner down.

"Where's Charmy?" Espio asked once he reached him.

"He's safe," Vector replied, "What about the queen?"

The chameleon shook his head. "I'm sorry, boss," he said, "But I got tangled with that ferret, and lost sight of her."

"WHAT?!" Vector shouted, throwing his arms in the air, "Well that's just great! You have any idea where they went?"

"I looked everywhere. That hornet queen must have secluded her."

A vicious, ear-rippling laughter screeched through their ears. All the freed bee slaves had stopped their rebellion and turned their attention back to the pier, where Queen Vespa had Queen Bea by the throat on the balcony.

"...Or she could just come out in plain sight with her," Espio corrected himself.

"You think you've won?!" spat Vespa, "You think just because you outnumbered my men, you suddenly gain the upper hand?! You little pests are NOTHING without your precious queen!"

"Let her go!" Vector shouted, as if that would do something useful.

Vespa clutched Bea's throat tightly as she hovered over everybody. "Oh I'll let her go all right..." she replied coldly as she revealed her stinger from under her dress, "Right after I stab my venom through her weak little heart!" She reared down and then tossed Bea into the air as high as she could, leaving the queen bee wide open for Vespa to aim her sting.

"STOP!" Espio yelled.

"Nooo!" the bees cried.

"COOOOOFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" a young voice shrieked.

Before anyone knew it, a little bee burst through one of the corridors, zipped at top speeds at Vespa, and plowed his young body full force into her stomach, knocking her far back into the balcony.

"Charmy?" Vector cried, "What the-?!"

Having missed any sting, and without her wings, Bea was left falling to the ground below. Fortunately, a worker bee, with fully functional wings, had the sense to race up and catch her before she hit the ground. "I've got you, my queen!"

Meanwhile, Vespa pushed herself up from the floor. "What the...? YOU!?"

Charmy, all caffeined up, was jittery all over as his hopped on his toes. "I found the coffee maker, nothing can stop me now!" he said in nearly one breath.

"Get over here!" Vespa grabbed for Charmy, but he jumped away with time to spare.

"MISSED!"

*STING*

"Ow!"

"GO COFFEE-BLASTED CHARMY, GO GO GO!" Charmy flew rapid circles around the hornet, who grabbed for the young bee, but kept missing at every inch.

*STING*

"Owch!"

*STING STING STING*

"Owwwww!"

*STINGSTINGSTINGSTINGSTINGSTI NGSTINGSTINGSTINGSTINGSTINGS TINGSTINGSTINGSTING*

"Aaaaahhhh!"

"COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COOOOFFEEEEE!"

Moving at speeds that could give Super Sonic a run for his money, Charmy zipped back and forth, left and right, stinging Queen Vespa at every opportunity, on every inch of her body, and she could barely keep up with him.

"Stoooooop!" she cried.

*STINGSTINGSTINGSTINGSTINGSTI NGSTINGSTINGSTINGSTINGSTINGS TINGSTINGSTINGSTING*

Sting, after sting, after sting, Charmy wasn't venomous like any other hornet, but his stings did hurt, and with sting upon every sting mark over and over, it wouldn't take long before Queen Vespa was stung enough that she swelled up every inch of her body.

"FINAL HIT!"

Charmy laid a caffeine-packed power punch strong enough to knock Vespa to the ground, who was weak enough with all the stinging Charmy had laid on her.

She was down. She could barely move. Every inch of her body was in searing pain.

All because of some scatter-brained little brat.

"AAAH HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA!" Charmy laughed, hands on hips, chest stuck out, "Go coffee go! Nothing can stop the power of Charmy on a caffeine kick! I'm strong! I'm invincible! I'm- ZZZZZZZZ!"

Charmy's caffeine rush ran out, and he fell to the floor, out like a light.

Vespa weakly got up to her arms, noticing the little bee was now completely helpless, laying on the floor sound asleep. It hurt like hell, but she was NOT going to be taken down, especially by this annoying little child. She'll have this colony no matter what! She slowly got back to her feet, raised her dress, aimed her stinger right at Charmy's chest, and-

... was suddenly grabbed by the back of the dress from behind. "Wha-?!"

Whoever had grabbed her turned her around, and she came face to face with a sneering crocodile. "Your majesty," he grinned, "You've just been dethroned."

"N..no...!" Vespa kicked, struggled, but was too swollen and achy to escape. All she could do was cry out, "Noooo!"

"The hornet queen has been taken down!" a flying honey bee shouted nearby, grabbing the attention of Vector and Espio, who had picked up Charmy.

"We're free!" The entire hive erupted in a loud applause. Vector proudly held up Vespa like a trophy, as if he did anything useful.

"Charming!"

The two turned to see Queen Bea leaning against the frame of the doorway, catching her breath, "Is Charming all right?"

"Charming..?" Espio raised an eyebrow and glanced down at the sleeping bee in his arms. "You mean Charmy?"

"Yes, I do," Bea hurried over to the chameleon and looked down at the child he was holding.

Espio smiled in response. "He's fine. In fact, he should be waking up right about-"

"I'M AWAKE!" Charmy bolted upright.

"... Now."

Charmy fluttered out of Espio's arms and somersaulted in the air around the room. "Woohooo!" he cheered, "That coffee sure is good stuff! I wanna drink more of it! Whatta rush!"

Holding Vespa far away as possible with one hand, Vector used his other hand to grab Charmy by his vest and pull him close to his face, rather upset. "Didn't I tell you to stay in the kitchen?!" he growled.

Charmy gave a nervous chuckle, "Eh heh... yeah you did," he replied, "But I really wanted to help, and I found the coffee, and so I drank a whole pot, and I got sooo buzzed I had so much energy and I knew it was enough to break out and hit the mean hornet queen, so I-"

_"Don't you ever disobey me like that again!"_Vector snapped.

Charmy frowned, his lip slightly quivered, and he faced downward, "Sorry, boss..."

As quick as he was angry, Vector lightened up, let go of Charmy's vest, and pulled the bee into a tight hug. "Good to have you back, kiddo."

Charmy grinned and hugged back. "Good to be back!"

Espio approached the two, and Charmy flew over to the chameleon, giving him a hug as well.

"Long live Prince Charming!" the bees below cheered, "Long live Queen Bea! Long Live Honey Hive Colony!"

The hive once again erupted into applause and cheer. Vector couldn't help but give a whoop himself. Charmy continued to do mid-air flips. "Yeaaah! WOOO! Honeybees rule!" He stopped in front of Queen Bea and raised his hand, "High Five!"

Bea in response grabbed Charmy and embraced him tightly. "... Uh... what're ya doin?"

"My little Prince Charming..." she purred, "I've waited for this moment for so long..!"

"Um... lady?" Charmy raised an eyebrow, "I think I'm just a_little_too young for you..."

Vector put a fist on his hip, "Yeah," he said, "What's with this whole 'Prince Charming' thing anyway? I think you got the wrong bee. His name is '_Char-MEE_."

"Actually," Bea looked over and smiled, "'Charmy' is my nickname for him. It says so right on his charm necklace."

Charmy blinked. "My necklace..?" he thought back to the golden charm he had since infancy, before Vespa had taken it away, "How do you know about that?"

"Because I'm the one that gave it to you," Bea responded.

"Just... who are you, anyway?" said Espio, "How do you know Charmy?"

The woman turned to the detectives and gave a smile. "I'm his mother, of course."

All three Chaotix members were taken back. "The... the queen..." Vector stuttered, "...is... is Charmy's MOM?!"

"Then... that means..." Espio stammered, "Charmy really IS a prince!"

"You're just NOW figuring it out...?" groaned Vespa.

Charmy, for once, was completely silent and still, even shaking just a little as he took it all in. "My... mom... My momma...?"

Bea's eyes filled with tears and she nodded to her son. "Yes... my little Prince Charming."

Charmy's eyes began to water, as he finally took in who she was. He didn't waste a second wrapping his arms around her neck and buried his face into her chest. "MOMMAA!"

Bea held Charmy tightly. Consumed with emotion, she fell to her knees as she returned the hug. "Oh Charmy..!"

"Momma, momma, momma!" Charmy wept into her.

"It's okay, little one," Bea soothed, softly stroking her son's head, "We're finally together again..."

Vector and Espio watched happily together. The crocodile had tears streaming down his cheeks that he wiped away with his arm, and even the usually cool and composed Espio had moist eyes as he tried to contain a sniffle.

Finally, Vector decided he and Espio invaded the personal moment long enough and suggested they go back down to lock away the Hornet Queen and help round up the rest of the hornets. They left mother and son alone to their reunion.


	10. Families

Having given Charmy and his mother their privacy, Vector and Espio returned down the steps from the balcony and to the main hall, where the honeybee workers shuffled the hornets away. The detectives did their part to assist putting the invaders away, starting with Queen Vespa, locking her in a dungeon cell. Figuring she was the most dangerous, Vector decided that the shackles on the wall would hold her nice and tight, very much to her dismay. Little did he know that these were the same shackles inside this very same dungeon cell Vespa had imprisoned Queen Bea for six years. Of course, Vector didn't know this. He simply told her to shut her trap, thinking she wasn't getting much of a punishment at that moment.

Getting together the hornets proved not to be such a difficult task. While they were bigger and stronger, the honeybees had the advantage in numbers and overcame them, after finding the courage to stand up to them. If it weren't for Nic the Weasel, that is...

Speaking of Nic, where DID she disappear to anyway?

Espio figured that she did her good deed for the day by helping the honeybees gather their strength and took off before the reclamation. That's too bad... She WAS their ride after all. Looks like it's gonna be a long walk home...

But what about Nack? Where did HE disappear off to? During the round-up, the worker bees had managed to drag Percy and lock him away. But Nack was still missing... and so was...

"HELP!"

Vector and Espio immediately dropped their thinking pattern and raced to the source of the trouble. Above the dungeons just around the corner was a crowd of worker bees, in a circle, many beaten badly. The detectives nudged their way through to get a better look.

"Return my weapons!" Fargo demanded, holding a soldier bee in a tight chokehold, "Or else he dies!"

"Let him go, Fargo!" Espio shouted, "There is no further need for violence!"

Vector slammed his fist into his palm, "Unless ya WANT yer head to go rollin'!"

"I will not be outclassed by a bunch of novice soldiers!" Fargo cried, "If I cannot fulfill my task and be rewarded, then I'll cut my losses! I will not sink so low as to play your prisoner!" His hold on the bee grew tighter, "Return all my weapons and I will spare his life!"

The other bees wouldn't risk it. They've already seen what the ferret was capable of without his weapons... To return them would be suicide.

"Fargo!" shouted a young voice. Everybody turned to look down the corridor, where a badger/mole hybrid stood.

Fargo raised an eyebrow. "Jiffy..?"

"Fargo, just... STOP!" Jiffy pleaded. "No more violence! I'm sick of it! I get it, we all do! You're a Gangdam outcast."

"What's your point?" Fargo snarled.

"You've tarnished their name long enough!" said Jiffy, "What good does this all do you? What do you want to get out of this? You kill, your make people suffer, for what? A little bit of cash?! You're a strong guy, Fargo, you can do so much more!"

Fargo narrowed his eyes. "I knew you were too innocent for the bounty hunter business," he droned. "I should have left you behind at Emerald Sea. You're the one that wanted to follow me. You were the outcast in your family."

"You guys are the only family I have left!" Jiffy's eyes watered, "I need you! Please!"

"Newsflash, kid!" Fargo spat, "Nack's gone! He abandoned you. Percy's arrested and I have no intention of going back for him. You wanna stay with me, you better learn to get your hands dirty!"

Jiffy's fists clenched. He stared downwards, his shoulders shaking, doing everything he could to hold back the tears. "Is that so...?" he murmured. From behind his back, he revealed Queen Vespa's dagger. Charmy wasn't the only thing Jiffy had caught in the main hall earlier.

"Kid, don't do it!" shouted Vector.

"You want me to be a cold hearted killer?!" Jiffy screamed, ignoring Vector, "Then I'll start with you!"

With a cry, he ran towards Fargo, dagger raised over his head. Fargo merely sneered at this and pushed away the nuisance that was his hostage. He approached the oncoming hybrid, clutched both of his arms before Jiffy could make the stab, and rammed his knee into his gut. At this, Jiffy's breath escaped and a wave of pain rushed to his stomach as he doubled over in pain. The dagger was easily taken and Fargo raised it over Jiffy's head...

But the dagger was struck by a speeding shuriken and flew out of the ferret's hand. In shock and rage, Fargo turned to face his attacker, only to come face-to-fist instead with Vector's powerful punch. Fargo was out for the count. The bees wasted no time gathering him up and dragging him down to the dungeons.

"All you all right?" Espio rushed over to Jiffy and knelt down by him. Jiffy was still on his feet, but crouched down, trying to recover from the blow to his stomach. Espio could tell he was in pain, not just physically, but emotionally.

"You shouldn't have saved me..." Jiffy whimpered, tears falling from his eyes, "There's nothing left for me... I've got no family, no gang, no nothin'..."

"You've still got your dignity," said Espio, "You realize that you are not destined to travel the dark path before you, and that you can take another route to something more just."

"What am I gonna do though?" Jiffy looked up, "I don't want to be part of the Fanged Snipers anymore, but I got nowhere to go..."

"Then why not stay here?"

From the opposite side of the corridor, Queen Bea walked in and approached the group, cradling in her arm her young son, Prince Charming, or rather, Charmy. The younger bee was cuddled into his mother's chest with a big smile on his face.

Jiffy stood up, "What do you mean stay here..?"

"Every child needs a home," spoke Bea, "And if you truly have nowhere to go, then perhaps you should consider the Honey Hive Colony."

"You mean... after all my gang did, all the trouble we caused, after helping out the hornets capturing your son, you still want me to stay here?"

"You did more than that," Espio interjected, "You saved Charmy's life. You were clearly against Fargo."

Vector nodded. "That's right, kid. Like Espio said, you've still got a chance."

"Perhaps life at the hive will help your decisions on what you want to make of yourself," Bea smiled.

Jiffy was overwhelmed with emotions. He had a new life, and a new chance a real future. He found himself rushing over and giving the queen a big hug. Charmy made sure to flutter out of his way and allowed his once kidnapper to have his momma for the moment. At that moment anyway, he was interested in two other people. "Hey Vector! Espio!"

"Heeey Charmy!" Vector raised his hand, allowing the bee to fly over and high-five it. Espio smiled and nodded his hello as well.

"Have you met my mom?" Charmy excitedly pointed over at Bea.

"Not properly," said Espio as he made his way to the queen and gave a polite bow. "Your majesty."

Vector came over and offered a handshake, "Please to meet'cha!"

Bea took a hold of Vector's hand and immediately pulled him in for a hug, much to his surprise. "My little Charmy has told me everything about you two," Bea murmured, "I can't thank you enough for taking such good care of him when I was unable to. I was lucky to have picked a great family for him."

"So then it was you who dropped him off at our cottage that night six years ago," Espio stated, remembering back to the stormy night.

Bea nodded. "My husband, before he was killed, made sure Charming and I escaped safely as the hornets made their invasion. But I had spotted them not far behind me. I was forced to drop him off for his own safety... It wasn't long afterwards when I was caught and brought back."

Vector grinned and placed his fists on his hips. "Well, all's well that ends well!" he announced as he roughly pat Espio on the back, "Oh, and it took six years, but... case closed! Right Espio?"

The chameleon crossed his arms. "I suppose so..."

"What's wrong?"

Charmy buzzed up to his friend. "Yeah, why the long face?" he asked, "Everything worked out for the better!"

Bea smiled. "To show our appreciation for everything you have done for us, my son and I would love to invite you to a feast."

"Feast?" Vector's hungry eyes widened, as he practically began to drool already.

"If, of course, you don't mind helping us to prepare."

"No problemo!" Vector stuck out his chest and pounded it with a fist, "Nothin' Team Chaotix can't help ya with! S'long as there's food in the end."

"Of course!" Bea gleamed once more.

"Yaaaay!" Charmy danced in mid-air, "Party party party!"

The other workerbees were just as jolly over the idea of a feast and gave their cheers as well.

* * *

Everybody did their parts to help clear the hive of any remaining hornet trace, taking down Vespa's terrible taste in decor and cleaning up the dirt and grime that the hornets left behind. It would be a lengthy process, possibly would take months to a year for the colony to belong completely to the bees. For now, it was clear enough to prepare for the next day's feast, which in itself would take a day to put together. Tonight, Bea ordered rest for her people. They were only recently freed from the hornet queen's evil reign.

Knowing the entire colony would not be revamped in one night, Bea allowed herself to stay in her old bedroom, which Vespa had made her own after the takeover . It was a little disgusting sleeping in the bed of the hornet queen, but Bea pushed it to the back of her mind, deciding that it was many steps up from sleeping from the shackles of her dungeon cell.

Charmy was shown his bedroom from infancy. The hornets didn't even touch this room. Even his old hive-shaped crib was there which he was still capable of fitting in. However, he insisted he wasn't a baby anymore, and rather, gave puppy-dog eyes to his mother, pleading to sleep with her instead. How could Bea resist that little face? So Charmy slept snuggled in his mother's arms.

Vector didn't mind spending the night. He rather enjoyed the luxurious guest bed and snored the night away. Espio on the other hand, while he didn't mind the room he shared with the snoring croc, had trouble sleeping. There was too much on his mind... mainly things that were focused on his little bee friend, and the future of Team Chaotix. Not that he had the heart to bring up the topic. Charmy was too happy to be back with his mother in his old home, whilst Vector was blissfully ignorant of the situation. He'll bring it up later. Now would be a good time to just relax himself...

After some cleaning up, the bees and the guests set together a beautiful feast in celebration of their first full day of Honey Hive Colony being a free kingdom once more. Queen Bea took her rightful place on the throne, and Prince Charming was officially crowned next in line. Jiffy was welcomed as part of the family, as were Vector and Espio, who were graciously thanked once more for taking good care of Charmy, as well as their role for helping to free the colony.

The night was enjoyed away. The celebration lasted long past Charmy's bedtime, when even Vector and Espio had to retire for the night. Vector figured first thing tomorrow would be the best time to start the long walk home.

"Vector..." Espio started.

The large crocodile gave a yawn as big as him. "What's on yer mind, Espio?" he asked, "You seemed distracted all day. We were supposed to be celebratin', after all..."

"Hasn't any of this crossed your mind?"

"Any of what..?"

"Charmy... The Chaotix... All of this... Vector, I think we should really consider our future here."

"Our... future..?" Vector blinked, and turned away awkwardly, "Ohhhhh... Oh jeez, Esp... Listen, I'm really flattered and all, and I hope we can stay friends, but, I kinda don't swing that way..."

"_I DIDN'T MEAN IT THAT WAY!"_ Espio snapped, "I meant our future as a team! "

"Oh! OHHHH!" Vector slapped his forehead, "Of course! That's what ya meant! I knew that! Hehehe... sorry..."

There was an annoyed silence between the two... before Espio muttered, "Disappointed?"

"Shut up!"

Espio sighed, "Listen, in all seriousness, what are we going to do? Are we really leaving Charmy here?"

"Charmy..?" Vector glanced downwards. He was so happy for Charmy finding his mother and his true home... he completely forgot about the bee's other home, with him and Espio.

"You didn't honestly expect to come here, help Charmy find his birthplace and mother, then just up and say, 'Time to go back'," Espio pressed on, "Vector, this is his home now... This..." the chameleon looked away, almost afraid to say it, "This may be the last time we see Charmy..."

Vector let out a low, long sigh before leaning back into his bed. "Poor kid..."

"Why do you say that?"

"If I didn't even think about it 'till now, what are the chances HE was thinkin' of it? It wouldn't be fair to put him in that predicament... It'll break his heart."

Espio laid down in his bed, pulling the sheets over, "This was what I was worried about... but in the end, we have to do what's best for Charmy."

* * *

The hive was getting cleaner and cleaner as each day passed. Espio and Vector could already see a brighter difference as they made their way to the dining area, where breakfast was served, and Bea and Charmy were sitting.

The young bee waved his friends over to where he sat. "Vector! Espio! Over here!"

The crocodile and chameleon joined their little friend. "Isn't this place great?" Charmy chimed, waving his fork full of pancakes in the air, "These guys make the most awesome foods! And because I'm a prince, whatever I ask for they give it to me right away! I bet if I tell them you're my friends, they'll give you whatever you want as well!"

Bea chuckled. "Now Charmy, sweetie, we musn't take advantage of our titles. The servants here are as human as you and I."

"It's tempting, kid," said Vector, "But y'should do what yer mom says."

"Okay..." Charmy moaned, but immediately chinned up and looked over, "So whattya wanna do today, guys?"

Both reptiles cringed and face faulted at each other. Charmy could sense something was up. "What's wrong?"

"You want to tell him..?" asked Vector.

"You tell him," said Espio, "You're the leader."

"Yeah..." Vector wiped a tear away, "But you won't burst into tears like I'm about to..."

Espio's eyes started to moist. "Who says I won't?"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell him..."

"Tell me what?" the child demanded.

Vector sucked in a big breath. "Look, Charmy, it's like this..." he sighed, "We really enjoyed having you on the team. You were annoying, sometimes, but you proved to be a great asset. But... now... it's time we left..."

"Left..?" Charmy looked over to his mother, "But... but... my momma!"

"When I say 'we' Charmy, I kinda mean me an' Espio..."

Charmy whipped his head back. "You and Espio? But what about me?!"

"Charmy," Espio stepped up, "You need to stay here. You're the prince of Honey Hive. This is your home now..."

"You mean... you mean..." Charmy whimpered, his eyes watering, "You don't want me anymore?!"

"No! Nooo!" Vector cried, "It's not that we don't want you! We do want you! But... you just belong here, okay?"

"No!" Charmy cried, "No! I belong with you! I'm a detective too, remember?!"

This was becoming harder. "Now, Charmy, you're staying here, you got me?!" Vector shouted, "That's final!"

"But... but... but..." Charmy sniffled, until he finally burst into tears, "But I don't wanna leave the Chaotiiiiiiiix! WAAAAAAAH!"

Vector couldn't take it anymore... and he too burst into tears. "WAAAH! I don't want you to leave eitheeeeer!" The two embraced tightly, bawling their eyes out.

Even Espio was having trouble keeping it together as he wiped away the tears from his eyes. "Charmy, this is for the better..." he wept, "We're only looking out for your best interest."

"But what about what_I_want?!" the bee cried.

Queen Bea approached Charmy, patting his head lightly. "What is it you want, dearest?"

"I..." Charmy sniffled, looking back from Vector to his mother. "I... want both of you! I wanna stay with Momma... But I don't wanna leave Team Chaotix!" He buried his face into Vector's chest as he continued to wail, "What do I do?!"

Vector lowered his head, "I... think you should stay, Charmy," he murmured, "This is yer momma we're talking about. We can't in good conscience take you away from your family."

"Nor can I do the same," spoke Bea.

The three turned to her direction. "Momma..?"

"My little Charmy..." Bea stroked her son's cheek, "How I love you... But it seems I'm not the only one who does. These detectives have raised you, taught you everything. I think you belong with them."

"What?" both Espio and Vector cried in unison.

"But Momma!" Charmy flew from Vector's arms to his mother's, "I don't wanna leave you either! Can't you move in with us?"

The queen shook her head. "My place is here, so that I may rule over our people. One day, Charmy, you will grow up to be king and take over my role..." she smiled, "Until then, it would be best if you stayed with the Chaotix."

"But your majesty," said Espio, "Are you sure? This is your son..."

"You've done so well to raise him," Bea smiled, "And he's learned so much in his short 6 years. He should continue to learn under your guidance the values that make a king, which includes loyalty, hard work, and love."

"You mean it?" Vector grinned.

Bea nodded. "My only requests are that you don't overwork him, and that he returns here on the weekends and during the summer. Think of it as a 'boarding program'."

"Fine by me!" Vector chimed, grabbing Charmy and swinging him around. "Hear that, kid? We don't hafta let you go after all!"

"Yaaay!" Charmy cheered.

"Welcome back, Charmy," Espio smiled and nodded.

A smile and a nod was not enough for Charmy. He extended his arm out to the chameleon. "Group hug!"

Espio sighed, "Very well." But he didn't seem to mind one bit as he stepped over and hugged his teammates, who returned the gesture.

* * *

Two days wasn't enough however for Charmy to spend reuniting with his mother, and he had asked Vector if he could stay a bit longer, to which Vector replied, "Boarding starts next month!"

So for the time being, it was only Espio and Vector. The end of the month seemed to take years, but eventually, a new month came, and Charmy returned to the team, much to the delight of his partners.

Things didn't change much, other than the fact that Charmy was a prince and could now receive the occasional donation whenever business was slow and money was tight. Despite the newfound riches, however, they never lost sight what was more valuable.

The super power of teamwork!

They were Team Chaotix forever!

THE END.


End file.
